Elton John slams D&G for 'synthetic' baby jibe

Elton John has called for a boycott of the designer label Dolce and Gabbana in a row over children born through in-vitro fertilization treatment.

The singer called for the boycott after Italian fashion designer Domenico Dolce said that children born through IVF were "synthetic."

In the interview with Italian magazine Panorama, published last week, Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce, who are both gay and used to be a couple, talked about their opposition to gay parents.

"We oppose gay adoptions," they said, adding, "The only family is the traditional one."

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Elton John

Other remarks in the interview followed the same vein, such as "When you're born you have a mother and father. Or at least it should be like this," Dolce said, with his following comment the one that prompted Elton John's ire: "I call children of chemistry, synthetic children, rented uterus, semen chosen from a catalogue."

On Sunday, the 67 year old singer – who has two children with husband David Furnish both born using a surrogate mother – responded to the remarks on social media site Instagram, saying: "How dare you refer to my beautiful children as 'synthetic'."

"And shame on you for wagging your judgemental little fingers at IVF - a miracle that has allowed legions of loving people, both straight and gay, to fulfil their dream of having children."

"Your archaic thinking is out of step with the times, just like your fashions," the singer, who has 77.9 thousand followers on the site, said.

The call for a boycott quickly gained traction among other celebrities on social media, with singers Ricky Martin and Courtney Love and former tennis star Martina Nvratalova supporting the songwriter.

Responding to Elton John's comments, the pair of designers both released statements clarifying their comments on Sunday.

While Dolce said that while his own family was "traditional", that did not "imply that I don't understand different ones," his business partner Gabbana said that "it was never our intention to judge other people's choices." "We do believe in freedom and love," he added.